Can't Love You More
by Apreslaube812
Summary: CSI: Snickers. Casecentered story. A boy commits suicide... or was he killed? Why? And why do Sara's thoughts keep drifting to Nick? almost done
1. Rock N Die

Ok, so, this Can't Love You More, chapter one. This is a case-centered story, but majorly snickers. Very pg. I hope you enjoy!

I'll most likely update about once a week or so. Maybe more :)

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**Chapter I:**

**Rock 'n' Die**

"Rodney! I said turn that music down!" Mrs. Morrison screamed for the 3rd time that morning. "If I have to turn it down myself…" The blonde woman began her ascent to hew new stepson's bedroom.

_This music is so angry. How can he enjoy this? _She wondered. BANG BANG. She knocked hard on the door. The woman, only 10 years Rodney's elder tried the door. Locked. Of course.

_Teenagers. I didn't get 'em when I was one. _Grabbing the room key above the doorframe, she unlocked the door.

"Where are you?" she yelled, voice drowned out by the rock music. _Where _is _he?_

As she walked to click off the cd player, she began to get nervous. She walked to the closet, and opened the door. "Oh… my…" She screamed.

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"Suspected suicide. New stepmom found him… hanging." The handsome older man informed his CSI's.

"Anything suspicious? To make it seem otherwise?" a brunette asked, uncharacteristically dejected.

"No. Seems, so far, like your run-of-the-mill teen suicide."

The Texan scoffed. After the body bag was moved outside, he started to walk in the door. He stopped as his shoulder was touched softly. A young brunette, face red from crying, spoke quietly.

"Is it true?" She sniffled. "It was… suicide?"

Nick was silent for a moment, as he realized who she must be. The girlfriend. "That's what we are here to find out, miss." Clearing his throat, he turned and walked inside.


	2. No Answers

**Ok, here is chapter 2. A bit longer than the first. Ok... it WILL be a snickers! Don't worry! It's coming up :). I'd say... chapter 4. Maybe. hehe.**

**Disclaimer: forgot last time. I dont own CSI... just merch :)

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**No Answers**

The stepmom, brother, and girlfriend were being questioned, but kept asking Nick for answers. He had none. _Why would he commit suicide?_ Sara was already inside the bedroom when he finally arrived.

"Hey, Sara. Found any note yet," the dark-haired CSI asked.

"Yeah. Looks like Rodney wasn't his stepmom's greatest fan. Take a look." With a gloved hand, Sara passed the note.

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_I can't take it anymore. _

_She's 10 years older_

_than me! I love you dad,_

_chris, and mom. Lissa,_

_I'm so sorry. I love you._

_-Rod_

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"Hmm. Who found him?" 

"Stepmom. There's a slap in the face."

Nick placed the note in a bag and on the bedside table. Suddenly, a gush of wind blew it off. "Hey, was the window open when you got in here?" He asked walking to the open window.

"Yeah… it was. Dust for fingerprints?" she asked, raising her eyebrows with a smirk.

Nick grabbed the powder began dusting. He noticed many fingerprints, most looking like the same donor. After getting all the fingerprints, he went to the computer and clicked on the monitor. A background of his girlfriend. _Cute._ _He did love his girlfriend…_He noticed that a website was open. _Interesting. I bet he has one of these…_

"Hey Nick, what are these?" Sara asked checking out a pink scored tablet with a magnifying glass. "Some kind of medicine… I don't think I've seen this before."

"800 mg. Something strong. I'll bag it and get it back to the lab. You want to finish up here? I'm going to go to talk to his brother and go back and look at that noose."

"Sure. I have it under control. Check you out later." She smirked.

Nick grabbed all his stuff and went downstairs. "Hey Chris, can I talk to you?"

Rodney's brother was sitting on the couch. He nodded. "Ok…" He walked Nick over to the kitchen, so they could talk alone.

"Ok, great. Your brother. He didn't like your new mom?"

"Well, he didn't like how young she is. But they got along ok. Why?"

"No reason. Hey, do you know if your brother had an account on yes. He did. His screen name is" he started.

"Excuse me. Please don't question my son. He has been through a lot. We all have. Can you finish this later?" A woman had come over, looking to be in her mid-40's. "I'm his mother." Her eyes seemed empty, hollow. She hadn't taken the news well.

"Sure, sure. What's your name?" Nick was obviously disappointed in not getting the information.

"I am Julie Bauer," she turned to her son and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry for your loss Miss Bauer. We'll keep you informed."

"Informed of what? Isn't it over? My son hung himself. What else is there to know?" Miss Bauer seemed very confused.

"We'll let you know." He left her standing there, holding onto her son. _What is with this case? I need to keep it together._

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Back at the lab, the fingerprints had no match. He had the lab tech look at the pill. 

"Ah, my dear CSI. This is called Skelaxin. It's a muscle relaxer. This much would probably indicate a person that is in some sort of physical therapy for an accident."

"Hey, thanks man." He left to go to the morgue. _I bet there's some of that Skelaxin in Rodney's body. If this isn't a suicide…_

"Hey Doc! What have you got on my vic?" He began.

"Well, either this wasn't a suicide, or your vic really changed his mind 90 of the way into it."

"Why do you say that…"

"Well, look at his fingers. His right middle finger's nail is gone, and his fingertip beds are worn out. Scratched up. He was, unsuccessfully trying to get out of that noose. Which, by the way, I just sent to the lab.

"Hmm… I have a question. We found Skelaxin, a muscle relaxer at the scene. Is there any still in him?"

"That was my next point of interest. He was given a big amount of muscle relaxer before he was hung. But there is no indication that he needed it… except to comply. I'm going to say he had about 2,500 mg in his system. That'd be enough to knock him out. An overdose, to say the least."

Sara then came into the room.

"Sara, that pill… it was a muscle relaxer. He overdosed on it."

"That could explain the vomit…" the brunette began.

"Common sign of an overdose. Vomit, severe drowsiness, dizziness, possibly even unconsciousness. But not our vic. I'd say he was barely conscious the entire time."

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**Aw, I hope you enjoyed! So, thanks for the reviews! I'm going to update next once I get 5 reviews. Cause I'm busy... **

**And... hey, in your review, tell me what you think... suicide or murder? if murder... who? Suggestions... comments... even hate mail... welcome!**


	3. Barbie Jump Rope

**Aah, hehe. Thanks for the kind reviews! So, I kept forgetting to mention something... important. Sara has a boyfriend in this. **

**Disclaimer: still dont own CSI :(. **

**enjoy :)

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Chapter III:**

**Barbie Jump Rope**

Doc continued going over the vic. "The cause of death: suffocation. See this bruising on his neck. Consistent with hanging."

"His fingernail. I picked it up in the closet," said Sara.

"Yeah. That and look at the fingertip beds," Nick pointed out.

"Struggle…"

Doc agreed. "Now, you know, the vic is 6 foot 3. So he wouldn't have hung in your average closet if he were conscious. Which brings me to his ankles." Sara and Nick looked at each other, confused. "Twisted and bruising. Can almost make out the hands. Not quite fractured, but close. He couldn't have stood on them after this, especially with the Skelaxin."

"Ok, let's put this together," began Nick. "Rod was given this pill. Maybe put into his food so he wouldn't know what it was? So, now, he's getting really drowsy. The person comes in his room, someone he knows, probably. They get him in the closet and put on the noose. Then they twist his ankles. I think the killer leaves now. The kid then has enough strength to get some fight on the noose, only to break off an entire nail and get his fingers scratched up."

"Sounds… good. Thanks Doc."

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Back at the lab, Archie was processing the noose. "Hey guys! I processed that fingernail for you, Sara," he smiled. 

Frowning, Nick asked, "anything on the noose?"

"Well, no prints or anything. But I did check it out under the microscope. Take a look.

Nick did. "Hmm. Green and pink specks? This is… a kid's rope?"

"Yep. Barbie actually. Flowers on the handle," Arch said with a smirk.

"Cute. Wait, aren't those covered in plastic?" asked Sara.

"Yes. The plastic must have been taken off so the rope itself could be used."

"Ok. So we need to find where that rope came from."

Sara thanked Archie. She and Nick went to the break room and sat down.

"So, what are you doing for your break Sara?"

"Actually, Tyler wants me to have some lunch with him. So I'll see you in about an hour!" She got her bag and left.

Grissom and Catherine walked in. "Hey, how's your case doing?" Catherine asked.

"It's getting interesting. Basically ruled out suicide."

"So who broke the Rod?" asked Grissom, smiling.

"That's what we are trying to find out. How's that hit and run case?"

"Strangely, slow. Catherine and I are off to talk to a pet shop owner. Good luck with your case."

As Catherine passed Nick, she whispered, "And Sara."

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Ring……… Sara's phone rang. "Hello?" she sniffled. 

"Hey, it's Nick. Meet me over at the vic's house." He said, and hung up.

A couple of minutes later, Sara arrived at the house. Nick was already there, talking to Rodney's stepmom. She walked up to them.

"Mrs. Morrison, does anyone you know take Skelaxin?"

"Skelaxin? I've never heard of it. Would you two like to come in, have some lemonade? I just made some new. It was… Rodney's favorite."

Sara nodded, and they followed her in. "Skelaxin. It's a muscle relaxer."

"Oh, yes! Mrs. Carlton! She was in a terrible car accident and is now in physical therapy. She takes that once a day."

"Who is Mrs. Carlton?" Nick asked, looking at Sara. She hadn't taken off her sunglasses yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. She is a dear friend of mine. Lissy, Rodney's girlfriend's mother. Sweet woman."

"Lissy's mother? Lissy. She would have access to those medicine," Sara said quietly to Nick.

"True," he sighed. He looked at Sara. "Why are you still wearing your sunglasses?"

She jumped at the question. "No real reason. It's just bright in here."

Nick obviously didn't believe her, but let it go. "Mrs. Morrison, where does Lissy live?"

"Oh, she just lives 3 houses down to the left. Such a lovely girl. Rodney _did _love her," she said sadly.

"Thank you for your time Mrs. Morrison," Sara said. She walked outside, Nick at her side. They were one house away from Lissy's, when Nick stopped. "What's wrong," Sara turned and asked.

"You're transparent, Sara. Those sunglasses aren't very big."

Sara was confused, and looked slightly nervous. "What are you talking about?"

"Take off your sunglasses."

"No. It's bright out here."

"Sara…" he started. She wouldn't budge. She turned to walk away when he stepped in front of her. He took off the glasses. It was worse than he thought. As he looked at her with a face full of worry, she began to cry.

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**Hope you liked it! Plz review. I got one today, and it was so sweet. I was like, dude, I gotta update, just for her! (The Notorious Cat). Thanks!**

**And next chapter... SNICKERS! it kinda started now, but there u go. haha. Sadly, I won't be able (most likely) to update again for atleast a week. cause school sucks :( :( :(. Anyway, have a GREAT day!**


	4. Dontcha Baby?

**Hey all, I know it's been a bit longer than I said, sorry! So, here ya go!**

**Btw, thx for all the reviews! So so sweet :)**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own CSI... or Barbie for that matter :D:D:D**

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**Chapter IV:**

** Dontcha Baby? **

"It's not a big deal," Sara whispered through her tears.

"Yes. It is. Did… Tyler do this?" Nick asked, becoming agitated.

"He. It was just an accident. He didn't mean to. It's really nothing, Nick." She straightened up and wiped her eyes. "I want to check out Lissy's house."

"What? You need to put some ice or something on your eye. We can do this later."

"Nick. Drop it. After shift I'll take care of it." She put her sunglasses on, and walked to the house. Nick sighed, but continued after her.

_Tyler doesn't know what he has comin…_Nick thought as he knocked on the white door. He had noticed that this house looked exactly like the vic's house. Only difference was the white rather than brown door. "I hate cookie cutter neighborhoods," he said, mostly to himself.

Sara scoffed. The door opened, and there stood a young blonde girl, looking to be no older than 7. She was obviously upset. "Hey. I'm Sara, this is Nick. We're from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Is your sister, Lissy home?"

The girl nodded. She turned and said "Mommy, it's the Crime Lab." She walked off and up the stairs.

"Crime Lab? Well come in then." The middle-aged woman was sitting on a large chair knitting. She had a walker at her side. Sara and Nick walked in. Lissy came down the stairs in a purple skirt and white blouse. "Oh dear, you look lovely. Where are you off to," her mother asked, still knitting.

Lissy smiled. "Just off to see some friends." She turned to the CSI's and sighed.

"Mrs. Carlton, can we ask you and Lissy some questions?" Nick asked kindly.

"Well of course you can. You **may** as well. Tsk tsk." She smiled.

Sara began, "Are you taking Skelaxin?"

"Why yes dear, I am. Why?"

"We can't really discuss that Mrs. Carlton. Lissy. Do you know where this medication is," the Texan asked.

"Yeah, sure. In the medicine cabinet. Is this about Rodney?" Lissy started to become suspicious. Suddenly, her phone rang. "Dontcha wish your girlfriend was…" the song pumped out of her cell phone. She smiled and raised her finger and mouthed "one sec." "Hey Jance! … I'll be out in a sec…. Crime lab is here…" she closed her phone and stuck it in her back pocket.

"Joey? Lissy, I don't want you hanging around that boy. He's trouble," Mrs. Carlton warned her daughter. "Joey was Rodney's best friend," she said to the CSI's.

"Interesting…" Sara mumbled to Nick. "Mrs. Carlton, why don't you like this Joey kid?"

"Well, first off, he is 17 years old! And my Lissy is only 14. He has made it quite clear to Lissy that she should have dating him rather than Rodney."

"Mom, Jance so isn't like that! He's sweet, and he wouldn't never do anything to tear me and Rodney apart," Lissy huffed and walked out the door.

"Mrs. Carlton, do you think Joey could have had anything to do with Rodney's death?" asked Nick.

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised…" she said sullenly.

"Ok, we'll look into that. Thank you for your time," Sara said and walked out the door. Nick followed behind her. "Nick… look what I found." She said, pointing to the ground.

"Ah-ha. A jumprope. Barbie. Looks like this is Lissy's sisters," Nick surmised.


	5. Just Wanna Play

**Hey all! Almost a quick update, lol. Anyway, I wanted to get this chappy up so I wouldn't be anxious about it all week. Finals! bleck. Anyway... **

**So, here's chapter 5**

**disclaimer: nope. don't own it

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Chapter V: **

**Just Wanna Play**

Lissy's sister hummed as she jumped off the front steps and into the yard. "Hey, that's my jump rope,' she yelled at a surprised Nick and Sara.

Nick stood up quickly followed by Sara backing up. "Sorry there darlin'." He said sweetly. Lissy smiled sweetly. "This is a pretty big jump rope." He handed it to her. "What's your name?"

"Jenny…" the little girl said apprehensively. Nick smiled.

Sara came closer and reached out her hand. "That's a lovely name, Jenny. It's nice to meet you," she said as sweetly as she could. Jenny shook her hand and giggled. "Wanna play?"

Sara shrugged with a smile at Nick. _Maybe we can get her to tell us something. I haven't played jump rope in a while…_ She took one end of the rope and gave the other to Nick. Jenny went into the center and they began to swing. She had a huge smile on her face as she jumped.

"I haven't jump roped in a real long time!" she squealed.

Nick looked at Sara and back at Jenny. "Why's that?" he asked.

"Cause my sister never wants'ta play with me anymore." She stopped jumping, suddenly frowning.

Sara came closer to Jenny and sat down on a chair, patting the one next to her. Jenny obeyed. "Why doesn't your sister play with you anymore?" Sara asked kindly.

Jenny fidgeted. "Cause of Rod. She was always playin' with him. She wasn't **never**home!" Her frown began to fade into a smile. "But now, my mommy says that Rod left, and he isn't comin' back. My mommy says he was sad so he died. I'm happy, cause now maybe Lissy will play with me again!"

Nick looked at Sara. He saw confusion in her face. _Could this sweet little girl have something to do with this?_

"Jenny sweetie, come in and have lunch!" Mrs. Carlton called.

Jenny groaned. "Bye bye!" She skipped into her house humming the same tune as before.

Standing side by side with Nick, Sara frowned. As she watched the girl skip inside, she conjectured, "I swear. I just **don't** get kids."

Nick smiled. "Aw, I wouldn't say that." He grasped her hand and turned to face her. She smiled shyly. "Can we take care of that eye now?"

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"Peas?" Sara questioned, sitting on the break room couch.

"Would you rather I put a steak on your eye?" Nick asked with a grin. He sat next to her, holding the frozen peas up to her eye.

She smiled. "No. I guess I wouldn't." She took the peas from Nicks hand. He smiled as her hand brushed against his. He watched as she titled her head back and closed her eyes. Just as he was about to get up look through the case's files, her phone began to ring. Sara groaned and grabbed the phone. "Tyler," she mouthed to Nick. She saw a flash of anger and jealousy in Nick's eyes. She opened her phone. "…hello?" She looked down and frowned. "I'm not sure. Maybe we can talk later…." Nick tried to listen in, but couldn't tell what Tyler was saying. "No, I'm busy. I'll talk to you later…." Nick could hear the agitation in her voice rise. As she continued to say no, he could feel his agitation rise as well. Finally, he was sick of it. He took the phone out of Sara's hands.

"Look buddy. She doesn't want to talk to you right now. We are busy working on a case. I would advise you to leave her alone." Nick looked at Sara as Tyler began to speak.

"Who's this?" the man demanded.

"I'm Sara's partner, Nick. I swear to you man, if you ever touch Sara again…"

"You'll what? Get all your cop friends together and hunt me down? Listen. I was telling her I was sorry. It was an accident," Tyler said, mockingly.

Nick scoffed. "You don't watch out… another accident might happen." He clicked the phone shut and gave it back to a, to say the least, surprised Sara.

She looked at the phone in her hand and whispered, "Thank you."

He smiled, calming down. As she looked up at him, he seemed slightly embarrassed. "Let's get back to the case.

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**As always, I sure do love reviews! hint hint nudge nudge. :D **

**Have a _loverly _day**


	6. Brotherly Love

**Hey there all! Sorry this chappy took so long. Finished up spring classes last week and this week has been... interesting. Oh, but happiness, I've been working out! Go better eating and exercise! Not that this matters... haha...**

**Anywho... let's see. thanks for the reviews! aah! mucho mucho MUCHO appreciated. for the raven viewers: "can you feel it? can you feel the love? nothin feels better than feelin the love..."**

**Just a reminder, chris rodney's (rodney is the dead kid lol) brother. Mrs. Morrison is the stepmom. **

**Anyway, i dont own csi... or really anything. :) enjoy:)

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Chapter VI: **

**Brotherly Love**

Sara laughed as Nick tripped over a rock on the sidewalk. Blushing, he turned back and gave her a mock smile. Truly, he was happy. Had he known something like that would get a laugh, he would have done it much sooner.

Sara waved her hand and apologized. They walked through Rodney's neighborhood and watched the carefree boys throw around a football. Nick turned when he heard a familiar voice.

"Farther! Go farther!" Chris yelled to his friend. Nick and Sara walked over to him.

"Hey Chris. How's it goin?" asked Nick. Chris threw the football and turned to face the CSI's.

"Oh, hey guys." Chris waved off his friend. "I'm doing ok. Just hanging."

Sara crossed her arms and tried not to glare. "Chris. Your brother died less than a day ago… and you're playing outside?"

Chris took a look at her and back to Nick. He breathed deeply and explained. "Well, my mom said that he's in a better place and he wouldn't want us to stop out lives too."

Nick nodded. He looked around at the trees and yards and noticed that there was very little green. Dry. Dead. "Well, I'd say she's right. Hey, man, do you know Lissy's little sister?"

"Jenny? Yeah, she's cool." He smiled and shook his head. "Hated Rod though. Not really sure why…" he pouted and looked down.

Sara brightened. "Hated how?" She uncrossed her arms and put her hands in her back pockets.

Chris looked up suddenly, surprised. He stole glances back and forth from Nick and Sara. "Oh, no… no, no, no. I don't mean… Jenny's cool. She would never do anything to hurt Rod."

"Chris, we aren't pointing any fingers. But, uh, is there anyone who maybe would… want to hurt Rodney?" the dark-haired Texan inquired.

"Jance." Sara glanced at Nick at the mention of the name. "Jance… I mean Joey, is Lissy and Rod's friend. See, Jance had been dating Lissy for a while before she dated Rod. Then she broke up with Jance. She was gettin in trouble. Her mom doesn't like him. Anyway, she goes out with Rod and Jance was pissed. He's scary man." Sara wrote what he said on a notepad. She paused as Chris looked at her writing. "You're writing this down?"

She smiled. "Well, only if you consent. I don't follow teen drama very well." Sara looked up at Nick to see him grin. _One of his best features. I love that about him. He's always grinning around me…_

"Sara." Nick snapped his fingers in her face. "You in there?"

She blushed 10 shades of red. "Sorry… I uh… thinking about… Jance. Just thinking about Rodney and his relationship."

Chris smirked. "Right." Sighing, he continued. "Well, um… oh yeah, seriously, Jance can be scary. One time he came to the house, like a week after Rod started seeing Lissy. I was outside and he grabbed me and picked me up by my shirt. He asked where they were. I told him, in his room. So he drops me and goes inside. Then I hear him screaming and Lissy runs out crying. Rod never told me what happened, but I saw him after and he had a black eye." Sara frowned. Noticing the confusion in her face, Chris went on. "He wasn't like that all the time. He just had a crazy temper. He's like obsessed or something, with Lissy. I mean, she's hot and all…" he and Nick smirked. "but she's just a chick."

Nick saw the annoyance in Sara's eyes. He scoffed. "Hey, don't call her a chick. I don't think girls like that too much," he motioned to Sara with his eyes.

"Hah… sorry." He turned as he heard a car pull up. "Oh, that's my mom. I gotta go."

"Ok. Oh, yeah. Does Jance have a job?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I think he's workin at Toys'r'us right now. See you later" He waved and walked over to his mother, who had just gotten out of her new car.

Sara and Nick backed up and watched the scene. Mrs. Morrison came out of the front door, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Through a clenched smile, she said "Julie! Hi! I didn't know you were coming over!"

Rodney's mother put her hand on Chris' back and walked him up to the door. "Why yes dear, I thought you could use some help with dinner." Mrs. Morrison scowled as her husband's ex-wife pushed through the door.

Nick turned to Sara. "Well **that** was weird." Sara nodded her head in agreement and faced him. In an almost baby voice he grinned, "Wanna go to the toy store?"

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**Right so that's it. Hope you liked that. Mostly just information. I'm goin to LA next week. I'm gonna try and get out another chappy before Monday. Cause that'd be cool. **

**Anyway, thx for reading. luvs and more luvs if you review :). as always, have a loverly day/night. and watch csi tonight! wooooooo!**


	7. Back and Forth

**Hey. grr... this didn't work the first time. anyway, here is chapter 7. been a while, i know, sorry! been busy w/ school. thx for commenting about which you wanted. way to go will NOT be in this. **

**disclaimer: own nuthin**

**enjoy!

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**Chapter VII: **

**Back and Forth **

Quietly singing along to the cd, Sara looked out the window. Nick was driving her and him to the local toy store, and enjoying her performance.

"Doo do do do doo do do…" She was beginning to get restless. She hadn't had a good nights sleep in weeks, and all she could think about was the case. And her continuing worry about her situation with Tyler. Plus, she was living on coffee, more or less.

As they pulled into a parking spot, she saw a little girl skipping along with her parents, holding a Barbie doll box. Sara smiled at her when they got out of the SUV. Nick came alongside her and peered into her eyes, making Sara tense up. "Your eye is lookin good. Barely even notice anything." He smiled and began walking up to the store. She followed along, wondering what this boy would really be like.

Walking through the sliding doors, they were immediately met with the sounds of children's laughter and annoyance of not getting what they want. Not exactly where Sara would have chosen to be at this exact moment. They walked over to the customer service counter. Nick smiled at the young girl working it, who was obviously overwhelmed by all the customers. "Hey, do you know if a Jance is working?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, he's in the electronics department stocking. Do you want me to call him up here?" she asked, batting her eyes at him.

Sara rolled her eyes and grabbed Nick's arm. "No thanks, we'll find him." She pulled him away from the counter and began walking towards the electronics department, narrowly jumping out of the way as a couple kids rushed by.

"Is that… jealousy, Miss Sidle?"

She jerked her hand off of him. "No. I just don't want anything to mess up the case."

"Right. Sure." They saw a boy, back facing them, rearranging video games. "Jance?"

He turned around and smirked. "How may I help you?"

"Well… you could answer a few questions for us." Jance nodded for him to continue. "What can you tell me about your buddy Rodney?"

"Oh. Rod. He didn't commit suicide, if that's what you wanna know."

"How do you know that?" Sara asked.

"The guy was happy. I mean, I have a friend who had a friend commit suicide. Told me all about it, warning signs and stuff. Rod didn't have those."

"Ok then. Have any idea who would have killed him? Anyone have a grudge?" she questioned.

"Sure, there are some kids at school that don't like me and Lissy and him. But they wouldn't kill him. Nah, people like Rod."

"What about you? I'd be pretty pissed if my best friend started dating my girl." Nick asked.

"Yeah, I was pissed. But we dealed with it. We all stayed friends. He was my best friend. Maybe you should ask his brother."

"Why Chris? What about Lissy?"

"Chris… is weird. He's got problems. And uh, Lissy? She loved Rod. She doesn't believe in violence anyway. She won't even step on ants."

"You know Jance. It's funny you say Chris. Cause he told us to talk to you." Nick said, growing agitated.

Jance scoffed. "He would. This one time I was mad and scared him. He's never liked me. Never liked Lissy either actually. It was funny. Lissy's little sister hated Rod, and Chris hated Lissy. And both those kids were afraid of me!"

"Why do they hate Rodney and Lissy?" Sara asked.

"Jealous. Once those two started dating, they were inseparable. I guess Rod and Lissy never spent time with the kids. We were at the park one time, all of us, and Jenny was like 'I could just kill Rod.'" He paused and shook his head. "Not that she would of course. She's so small. Even if she wanted to she couldn't."

Nick grabbed a pad of paper and pencil and wrote down his number on it. He gave it to Jance. "Call me if you think of anything else." Jance nodded. "See ya."

Sara thanked him and she and Nick began walking outside. "Nick…" she began.

"Yeah."

"I think maybe we could be looking for two people."

"Chris and Jenny?"

"Chris and Jenny."

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**reviews, pos/neg are appreciated!**

**have a nice night/day!**


	8. Thoughts

Woah. haha. Hey there! Haven't updated in quite a long time. Thanks for all the reviews. I decided I really want to finish this story. And right now is the perfect time, since I want to procrastinate studying for 2 tests and a 15 page paper due in a couple weeks (yeah, haven't decided on the topic yet... haha!)

Anyway, again, thank you for the reviews. I am currently writing the next chapter. If all goes well, it will be up sometime tonight.

Disclaimer: I am poor. I own nothing, except this laptop I am writing on.

Oh by the way, I haven't been watching the new season. I saw the episode though last night. It inspired me to write... tryin to pretend I didn't see Gris and Sara.

Thanks :)**  
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**Chapter VIII: **

** Thoughts **

"Got something on your mind?" Catherine asked Sara, frowning slightly.

As if snapped out of a trance, Sara jumped and looked over. "What?"

"You've been stirring that coffee looking at nothing for 15 minutes."

She smiled sheepishly. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Just this case me and Nick are working on." She gazed off again, sighing.

"Right. Well if you want some help, you know where to find me," she said as she got up and walked out of the break room.

After Catherine walked out of the door, Sara muttered "thanks." As Sara sat, continuing to stir her cold coffee, she thought about the case. She thought about Tyler.

She thought about Nick. She had found that lately her thoughts often had drifted to him. _Why? Why can't I get him off my mind   
_

Nick walked into the break room, whistling absentmindedly. He stopped, noticing Sara's daze. "Hey Sara. What's up?"

She paused, as if deciding on something, and stood up. "Nothing at all." She walked past him, brushing her shoulder slightly against his. "Let's get to work." He shrugged, grabbed an apple from the table and followed her.

They decided to visit Jenny again. Pulling into the familiar neighborhood, they saw the kids were playing again. For some reason, it just didn't seem right. They spotted Jenny being pushed on a tire swing by her sister. Jenny saw them and waved excitedly. She jumped off the tire swing and rushed over to Sara.

"Lissa!" She exclaimed. "Lissa, this is them. The ones that jump roped with me!"

Lissa gave an odd smile and walked slowly to them.

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**Ok, all done. Very short, I know. :) **

**Review please! **


	9. Truth and Lies

**Ok, new chapter. Bit longer than the previous. I really want to finish this story soon, so hopefully it will be done within the next week. Reviews help with that! **

**So, I hope you enjoy. :)**

**ps. i dont own csi... **

* * *

**Chapter IX: **

** Truth and Lies **

The expression Lissy's face conveyed was hard to figure out. One thing Nick and Sara could see quite clearly, was that Lissy knew something they didn't. "Hello CSI," she said in a strangely sultry voice to Nick. Sara gagged. "I figured I would see you again."

Nick turned to Sara and back to Lissy. "Actually, we were hoping to talk to Jenny."

Lissy smiled. "Are you sure about that?"

"Just give us a minute with Jenny. After, we'll talk to you," Nick drawled. Lissy seemed satisfied with that answer. She turned on her heel and walked inside her house.

"Are you gonna play jump rope with me again?" Jenny asked excitedly. "My mommy got me a new rope… it's just like my old one!"

Sara glanced at the rope. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. Can I see the rope?" Lissy handed it to her. As Sara looked closer, Nick watched her reaction. "Hey Nick. Take a look at Lissy's new pretty jump rope." She tossed it over to him.

He knew what was coming. He looked closely at it and sighed. "Pink and green specs." Jenny looked confused.

"Yeah, pink and green. Just like my old jump rope."

"Jenny. What happened to your old jump rope?" Sara asked tentatively.

"Chris wanted to borrow it. But then he lost it! I told him I wasn't never gonna let him borrow my stuff again. That was my favorite jump rope. So my mommy bought me this new one."

"Well little darling, it's very nice." He handed Sara one end of the jump rope and backed up. Lissy got in the center and began jumping. She started singing "Ice cream soda, cherry on top…" Her song was drowned out by the sound of bass shaking a car.

Nick turned and saw a beat up Corolla whizzing down the street, screeching to a halt in front of the house. Out came Jance, looking particularly different from the way he had at the toy store the previous day. At the store, he had had clean gelled hair and a nice uniform. Here, he was wearing a rag and hat on his head, pants about 10 sizes too big, and a shirt with a gun on it, and the words "fight the power." Nick rolled his eyes and glanced at Sara. She was watching Jance as well.

Jance strolled up the driveway. The front door slammed as Lissy came running out and jumped into Jance's arms. "Yuck!" exclaimed Jenny. "I'm gonna go inside. Bye CSI people!"

Nick walked over to Sara and said quietly, "No wonder Lissy's mom doesn't like him."

The young couple walked over to Nick and Sara. Lissy looked Sara square in the eye. "There is something we need to tell you." Jance was now fidgeting with his hat. "Can we go somewhere?"

"Downtown," Nick said as he showed the couple to their Denali. No one spoke on the car ride back to the station. _Lissy and Jance? Was Chris right? Did Jance murder his best friend? _Once they got to the station, Sara led the way to the room. Jance and Lissy didn't look up the entire way.

"What do you need to tell us?" Sara questioned.

The teens looked at each other, silently pleading with the other to go first. After what seemed like an eternity, Jance cleared his thought and breathed deep. "We did it."

Nick and Sara looked shocked. "Did what exactly?" he asked.

More silence. Lissy looked up with tears in her eyes. "We… killed Rod."

_This doesn't seem right. Too easy. What aren't they saying_? "Why? Why would you kill your best friend? Your boyfriend?" Sara didn't believe them.

Jance glanced around the room. "He wanted to die. Cause he hated his family. So, we did it. That's it."

"I think we need to get your parents or a lawyer in here. You do know that you both are confessing to murder." Nick was overwhelmed. He didn't expect this.

Wiping tears from her face, Lissy continued. "I don't want our parents here. We can speak for ourselves. We know what we did, and we know it was wrong. We just want this whole thing to be over. Get all this questioning over with. It's just hurting our families more."

Sara stood up and paced the room. "Can I talk to you outside Nick?" She walked out of the room and he followed. They walked into the other room to listen and watch them through the one way mirror. Lissy and Jance weren't talking. "So what do you think?"

"They're lying. If they had really done it, they wouldn't have confessed so easily. We weren't questioning them."

They turned back to watch the teens. Lissy was now full on crying. "Jance. I can't do this. I can't go to jail."

"Well it's too late now. Don't you want to protect him?"

"I do. But there has to be a better way. A way where none of us goes to jail."

"That way doesn't exist. Unless, I don't know. We all run."

Lissy stopped crying. "Run? I can't run! I'm not going to leave my family because of a mistake. A stupid mistake."

"Don't get mad at me! I'm not the one who killed him! I would never hurt Rod like that. I may not like his brother, but I'm not gonna let him go down without a fight."

"I know. I'm sorry. This is just such a mess. We need to talk to Chris. Get all our facts straight. Something must have made him do it. I would have never thought he wanted to kill his brother."

* * *

Mmhmm. Almost done. Maybe 2 or 3 more chaps. If ya like or hated, please review! Just cause I love it. Haha

Have a loverly day


	10. Mother Knows Best

Hey, next chapter. :) Not much to say. Just please please review. Even if you hate it! --------------------------------------------- **Chapter X:**

**Mother Knows Best**

Sara's mouth dropped. Nick cracked his knuckles. "No." He finally said allowed. "Chris. Why?"

Sara looked at him. It still didn't make sense. None of the suspects made sense. "I don't know. But we need to talk to him. They can't protect him forever."

"I guess not." They walked back into the interrogation room. Lissy looked up with a scared look in her eyes.

"What's going to happen to us?" she asked.

"Nothing. We're gonna let you go for now," Sara said quietly.

Jance looked outraged. "Go? We just confessed to murder. How can you let us go?"

"We have more people to question," said Nick matter-of-factly.

Lissy stood up and walked out the door. Jance followed her, mumbling about police incompetence after a couple minutes. Nick and Sara went out the door and watched them leave the station. How they planned on getting home, they didn't know. All they knew was they needed to get to Chris before Jance and Lissy could. They rushed to Nick's SUV and drove to the Morrison house. Hopefully Chris would be there.

Nick parked in front of the house and saw a familiar car. Ms. Bauer, Rod's mother's car. They walked up towards the house and saw Chris and Ms. Bauer walking from the backyard. Ms. Bauer had her arm across his shoulders speaking sternly. Chris had a look of defeat on his face. "Listen to me Chris," she said. "We are going to get through this. Just do what I say and everything will be ok."

Nick and Sara stopped. They slowly crept towards a bush, being as quiet as they could. "She knows?" Sara whispered. "We need to talk to Chris… alone." He agreed. As Ms. Bauer and Chris passed them, they stood up out of hiding. "Ms. Bauer?"

She turned quickly to face Sara, obviously surprised. She looked Nick and Sara up and down and took on a face of innocence. "Yes? How may I help you?"

Nick folded his arms. "Ms. Bauer, we need to speak to your son."

"What is this about?" she asked calmly.

"Rodney."

Ms. Bauer paused for just a second, and nodded. "As long as I am with him, you can talk to him."

Sara put her hands on her hips. "Can we talk downtown?"

The woman sighed. "Of course."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clock was ticking away the seconds accusingly. The four were sitting in the interrogation room. Chris was sweating and cracking his knuckles, occasionally glancing up at his supportive mother. She was rubbing his back, soothingly telling him everything would be ok soon. It was a sad sight to see. Nick and Sara were watching them through the one way mirror. "We need to talk to him alone. How are we going to get the mom to leave?" Nick asked.

"I don't…" her phone rang. She grabbed it and read the caller id. _Should I answer?_ She gave in. "Hey."

Nick could hear through the man on the other end. "Hey Sara, what are you doing tonight after work?"

"Going to sleep."

"Come to my place."

"No, I'm really tired. I'll call you when I wake up."

"I never see you anymore."

"Me and Nick are trying to figure out this case, I've been busy."

The man paused. "Nick? The guy that tried to threaten me?"

Nick glanced over when he heard his name. He mouthed "Tyler?" to her. She nodded.

"I can't talk right now. I'll call you later." She snapped her phone shut and threw it on the table behind her.

He knew this might not be the time to say anything, as he didn't want to be slapped, but he went ahead. "You need to break it off with him Sar."

She glared at him. "I need to do what I want to do." She walked out the door and into the interrogation room. He followed after her, grabbing an evidence bag from the table.

He and Sara sat down across from Ms. Bauer and Chris. He showed the bag, containing the jump rope to them. "Chris, do you recognize this?"

Chris looked at it and back to his mother. She nodded with a look of approval. "Yes. It's Jenny's jump rope." There was a knock at the door. Catherine. Sara got up and opened the door.

"Brought you coffee. Want any help?" Catherine whispered.

Normally, Sara would have been slightly offended at the question. However, since she could use it, she put her feelings of pride aside. "Yeah, can you take the mom out of here?"

"No problem." She walked a couple feet into the room. "Ms. Bauer, can I speak with you?"

Ms. Bauer looked at her. She gave Chris's shoulder a squeeze and followed after Catherine, closing the door behind her.

Sara went back to her seat. "Chris. We need you to be completely honest with us. What happened to your brother?"

Chris glanced at both of them, sat up straight and took a heavy breath. "Ok."

----------------------------------------- :) new chapter tomorrow 


	11. Confessions

**Hey. Oooh almost done! Thanks for reviewing "**wraiths-angel" **Very appreciated.**

**Nothing really to say about the chapter. Just that, it's not over. Ha. Oh, and "Tiffany" not sure if i've ever mentioned, is the stepmom.**

**If you have read from the beginning, thank you!! I think this is the longest thing I've ever written, ha. **

dis: i own nuthin

**  
**

* * *

**Chapter XI:**

** Confessions **

"He didn't commit suicide." Chris said slowly. "I didn't mean it. I was just playing. I never meant to kill him. Lissy took some of her mom's pain pills and brought them over one day. I heard them talkin' about it. How it like, makes it so you couldn't move your legs and stuff. So after he took her home, I grabbed a couple of them from his room. I thought it'd be a funny prank to like, mash 'em up and put 'em in his food or somethin. Give it to him, and you know, he'd just not be able to move. I didn't know it would kill him."

Nick nodded as he listened. "The pills didn't kill him."

"I know they didn't. It just, went too far. I waited until it was only us two in the house, Dad and Tiffany were out on a date or something. So Rod was in his room doin homework, told me to get him some dinner, whatever I was having. So I made him some soup and I crushed up a bunch of the pills and put them in. I brought it up to him and I guess he hate it, cause uh, an hour later I guess he started yelling to me, kinda muffled."

Suddenly, the door burst open. Ms. Bauer came in with an angry look on her face. "I want a lawyer for my son!"

"Mom, it's ok. Lying will just make this worse. I just want this to be over with."

"I'm not going to let them take you away!"

"You can't control me forever! I did this. It's over."

Ms. Bauer started crying. She looked longingly at Nick and Sara and walked out the door, sobbing saying "My boys…" over and over again.

Nick got up, closed the door, and locked it. He didn't want any more interruptions. He sat back down. "Ok Chris. So what happened after he yelled to you?"

Chris rubbed his face. "Well, I thought it'd be funny, so I ran upstairs. I saw him, on the floor looking at the ceilings. He looked like how he did when we hard a party at my house and he passed out from drinking." He wiped his eyes. "But uh. It wasn't funny. There was like, spit coming out of his mouth and his eyes were glazed over. I told him I didn't mean to hurt him, and he just looked over at me. I stared at him for a long time. He started breathing slower and then his eyes closed. I fell on the ground watchin him. I couldn't believe what I'd done." Chris lowered his head on the table into his arms.

Sara spoke up suddenly and sharply. "Chris." She caught herself, and tried to sound soothing. "Chris. What happened after that? He didn't die from the pills."

He looked up. "I didn't want to get in trouble ok? I grabbed a jump rope I'd borrowed from Jenny. I wanted to make it look like a suicide. So I just made the rope into a noose and put it on his neck and tied it on the closet bar. But… he was still breathing. I didn't know. I thought he was dead. I was so shocked, I let him go and he was hanging. He came to a little bit and looked at me. Tried to stand on his feet. He almost could but I was just going crazy. I didn't know what to do. So I closed my eyes, and twisted both his ankles real hard. I was crying, I could barely see. I grabbed the bowl and took it downstairs. I washed it out real good. It was terrible. Even though I was crying real hard, I could still hear him screaming." Chris stopped speaking. He was staring off into space. There was a cop outside the door, waiting for his cue. Nick nodded to him and the cop came inside.

Sara stood up and rubbed Chris' back. "Thank you Chris."

The cop cuffed Chris behind his back as Nick said "We'll see you later Chris. I don't blame you for what happened." Chris half smiled as he as being walked out. He stopped at the door quickly and turned around. He looked nervous. "Nick. I don't know if it matters, but uh. I never got to tell you Rod's screen name for looked confused then he remembered. "Yeah. What is it?"

"HotRod7. His password was something about Lissy. Something dumb. Lissy love or something." He walked out the door to a slightly confused Nick and Sara.

"Why would that matter?" He asked her.

"I don't know, but I need to go home. We can look at the account later." She looked like the life had been sucked out of her.

"You don't look good." She scoffed. "Why don't you come over to my house, sleep there."

She laughed. "I'm not going home with you Nick, how many times do I have to tell you?" She tried to laugh again but fell to the chair.

"You're coming home with me." He lifted her arm over his shoulders and walked with her to the locker room. He grabbed their stuff and took her to his car. As soon as she got into the car, she fell asleep. She woke up to taking her inside his house.

"Mm. I'm sorry. I didn't realize how tired I was. He got a pillow and blanket and put it on the couch.

"Take my bed, I'll take the couch." He could tell she wanted to protest, but was too tired to do so. This was fortunate, since he was actually very tired himself. She trudged into his bedroom and got under the covers. Nick turned off the lights and made himself comfortable on the lumpy couch. "Goodnight Sara."

* * *

Reviews always extremely appreciated. Have a wonderful day.

To quote my hero, Ringo Starr: "Peace and love, peace and love, peace and love."


	12. Changes

**Ok, this is me procrastinating my paper. Yeah... basically I have the articles, but I haven't read them, so obviously haven't started the paper. **

**But yeah, 1 or 2 more chapters. I'm working on the next one right now, so it should be up in the next couple hours.**

** PROMISE**

**disclaim: i do not own the following: i basically own nothing  
**

* * *

**Chapter XII: **

** Changes **

* * *

"And then while I'm away, I'll write home everyday, and I'll send all my loving to you…" Sara awoke to the smell of coffee and the sound of Nick singing softly. She closed her eyes and let herself listen to his voice for a couple minutes. _I could get used to this. _She found herself smiling, thinking about what it would be like to wake up like this every morning. She stopped suddenly, as she realized what she was thinking. _I must be delirious. _Sara thought, running her fingers through her hair.

Humming, Nick came into the bedroom with a cup of coffee. He handed it to Sara as he sat at the edge of the bed. As she sat up, Sara couldn't help but become aware of his lack of shirt, and tried to divert her eyes. He noticed, and smirked. She thanked him.

"So how are you feeling?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm good… uh… thanks for letting me spend the night."

"No problem. So, I looked at that website. You should check it out."

At the mention of work, Sara brightened. She was more than a little awkward, and anything to get her mind off his bare chest and toned abs would be good right about now. He showed her into the living room where his laptop was opened to the myjournal website. It was already on Rod's profile. Sara sat in front of it and began to take it in. Blue background, red lettering, a Metallica song playing. There was a picture of him and Lissy making 'peace' signs at the top right corner.

"Look at the rest of the pictures," Nick said quietly. She obeyed. On the following page were pictures of him alone, mostly making silly faces, pictures of him and Lissy, hugging, kissing, dancing, and one of him and Chris. They were dressed up in matching Pirate's costumes. The caption below the picture said "Me and the bro lookin way cooler than Depp. We can take him!" Sara smiled. She scrolled the page down to look at comments. The first was Lissy's. "Can I be the Swann to your Turner? xoxo."

The only other comment was from Chris. "Hahaha, best Halloween ever. Why they ever picked Depp and Bloom over us, I'll never know!"

Sara looked up. Before she was able to speak, her phone rang. She groaned, hearing the familiar song. Tyler. Nick scratched his head and turned, walking into the kitchen. Grudgingly, she answered "Hey."

"Where have you been. I called your house."

"Oh… working late."

"You said you were tired. You said you'd call when you woke up."

"I just woke up. And I'm working. Can I talk to you later?"

"No, we can talk now. You're always working, where's the time for me?"

"We are working on a case. After that we can go out to dinner or something. We're almost done."

Tyler didn't speak for a moment. "I don't want you working with that guy anymore."

"What, Nick? What do you mean, you don't want me working with him? He's my coworker. I work with who Gris tells me to work with."

"Then quit."

She scoffed. "I'm not going to quit my job for you."

"I'm not surprised. You never do anything for me. This whole relationship, I've done everything."

"That's not fair."

"Where are you right now."

"I'm working."

"That's not what I asked. Where are you."

"That's none of your business."

He started laughing maniacally. "You're with him! At his house?"

She didn't say anything. She was about to tell him off, but decided against it and hung up her phone. Nick had been listening to the conversation and rolled his eyes. _How many times do I need to tell her?_ "Sara you can do so much better than that guy. He's not worth your time. You are the most amazing women I've ever met."

She smiled. "That's really nice Nick, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me Sara. You are. God, you're smart, funny…" he grinned "gorgeous. If you could just see that. You'd see why I lo-"

There was a knock at the door. Realizing what he had almost just said, Nick turned and rushed to answer it, leaving Sara stunned, to say the least. _Had he almost said what I think? Love? Him?_

* * *

_who could it be? haha. _

_have a good one :) _


	13. Blogs

**Yay, thanks for reviewing!!! Man I love those :P.**

**I keep thinking I'm like almost done, but then I'm not. Ok seriously this time, I really think it's gonna be about 2 more chapters.**

**Goshhh  
**

* * *

**Chapter XIII: **

** Blogs **

* * *

"Greg?" Decked out in a vintage band shirt and jeans, Greg was standing at the door. "What are you doing here?" 

"Gris wanted me to help you finish the case." He walked in and sat next to a confused Sara. "You can put your shirt on now Nick. Time for work."

Nick blushed slightly and grabbed his shirt off the couch. "Right. Well, we are looking at Rod's myjournal.

Greg scanned the picture and pressed 'back." He grinned, hearing the song. "He had good taste." Sara winced as he turned up the volume. Nick rounded over to the other side of Sara to read along with the two. There wasn't much on the page; there was his name, a blog link, a short description of himself, and his comments. They noticed that all the latest comments were things like: RIP and 'I'll miss you.'

"What is it that you really wanted me to see?" Sara asked Nick.

"Oh, his blogs." He clicked the link. The first blog was nothing special, an explanation of his week, including a test he failed since he didn't study. The next blog entry was much more interesting:

* * *

3-12-06 6:35 am 

I am so sick of this constant fighting. My mom has now resorted to putting me and Chris in the middle. I can't believe what she said to me yesterday. Get this: "I need you to tell Dad how rough I'm having it. He isn't paying as much as he should." So I told her that he's paying as much as the court ordered. Then I told her that she should ask Chris, her faithful little pawn to help her, cause I wasn't going to. She's just trying to get back at dad. She hates Tiff. She wants dad back, but I know that he'll never take her. He shouldn't. She's insane!

Anyway, after I told her to ask Chris, she slapped me. So I punched her back. Right in the eye. It was great, she looked at me, she was so angry. Shocked and angry. Man, it felt good. So I knew I had better get out of there so I ran into my room and locked the door. She started screaming bullshit about me being 'unappreciative' or whatever. Bitch.

But yeah, that was last night. Good times. Hah. She called tonight and talked to Chris. I wonder what they're planning? Hopefully nothing too drastic…

* * *

**Mmhmm. Next chapter... by tomorrow night. Yes. have a good one!**


	14. Showers

** I hope you liked the short last one. This one's just a tad longer. The next (last) chapter is basically ready, just needs editing. So that will be up sometime tomorrow.**

**Aaaaaand I hope you like this one! Sorry, nothing really with the case...  
**

* * *

**Chapter XIV: **

** Showers **

The three read this blog over and over again. Nick and Sara had noticed the woman seemed a bit off, but they had figured it was because her son had died. It was to be expected. This blog was written a week before Rod's death.

Greg was the first to speak. "We need to talk to the kid." Nick and Sara silently agreed. "Get ready."

Sara took a large gulp of coffee and stood up. "Can I shower first?"

"Please." Greg smiled. She pushed him playfully. "Just kidding!"

"Yeah, I'll get you a towel." Nick grabbed a towel and washcloth from the closet and showed Sara into the bathroom. "So uh, shampoo and soap are there." He laid down the towel and washcloth and scratched his head nervously. "Yeah, so, if you need anything…"

Sara turned him around and pushed him out the door. "I think I can manage a shower, thanks."

Back in the living room, Greg was mulling over the website. He had been looking over Chris and Lissy's profiles. Nothing exciting. They didn't update as often as Rod did apparently. He saw Nick come into the room. "She need help with her shirt?"

Nick looked annoyed. "No reason to be jealous Greg."

Greg showed mock surprise. "Moi? Jealous? Never." He leaned back into the couch and stretched. "Besides, she has a boyfriend. So if I would be jealous of anyone, it'd be him."

"Tyler." He clenched his fingers into a tight fist. "If she'd let me, I'd punch him across a room."

"You got jealousy issues man."

"No, he's a jerk. Gave her a black eye. Tries to control her. Pisses me off."

At this, Greg quickly sat up and looked strangely tense. "Sara? Never would'a pegged her as a girl who'd let someone shove her around. Seems more like the shov_er_."

"I don't know man. She just, doesn't get it. She never sees what's right in front of her. She's afraid to be happy."

"Ok Oprah." Nick glared at him. "Just kidding! No, needs someone fun… like me!"

"Greg don't fool yourself."

"Oh, you're so much better?"

"She's not into you Greg. Get over yourself."

He groaned. "Yeah, I need someone more exciting. Like Lindsay Lohan." He looked off into space dreamily.

Nick laughed. Both heard the shower turn off and turned their head to the bathroom. Sara emerged in her towel, completely unaware she was just being talked about. She ran her fingers through her hair. She looked to Nick, about to ask him a question, then quickly noticed she was being watched. Normally, she would be put off by this kind of attention, but she smiled. If anyone was to look at her like that, she'd prefer it to be Nick. And besides, Greg had already showered with her… though he said he didn't look. She cleared her throat and the glaze snapped out of Nick and Greg's eyes. "Do you have a hair dryer?"

"Oh. Oh yeah sorry. Just here." He walked past her, brushing her side slyly. She turned, wondering if that had been an accident or on purpose. She smiled regardless. She found herself suddenly wishing (more than she had before) that she didn't have a boyfriend. Nick rummaged through the cupboard, grabbed the hair dryer and handed it to her.

Driving to the police station was a battle. Nick wanted to listen to country, Greg wanted rock, and Sara wanted silence. Eventually, Nick decided to sing his favorite country songs with the radio off. Sara pretended to be annoyed as best she could. Of course, as Nick noticed, she was never that good of an actress. They arrived at the station and got out of the SUV. A couple seconds after they began walking to the front, Sara's phone rang. Noticing the ringtone was not Tyler's, she hung back to answer it. "I'll be there in a sec." She waved Nick and Greg on inside then walked back towards the SUV. She opened the phone. "Hello?"

No answer. "Hello?" Click. She didn't receive many hang up calls. She shrugged it off and put her phone back in her pocket. Before she was able to turn around and block it, a shadow came in front of her face and hit with a loud clang.

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have a gooooood one :) 


	15. Control

**ok, this is it. the final chapter.**

**wooh. long time, lol.**

**but now how will i procrastinate???**

**i hope you like it! **

* * *

**Chapter XV: **

** Control**

Sara groaned as she opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was. She felt the familiar sensation of a new bruise forming around her eye. 

"Bout time you came around." A man grunted. Shielding her eyes from the sun, Sara turned to the voice and sat up. She winced when she put her weight on her wrist. It hurt, but she could tell it wasn't broken. _That should form a nice bruise too…_ Tyler was sitting on an old box in front of her concentrating on his fingers. Sara looked around at her surroundings. They were familiar.

"Where are we?

He laughed. "God Sara. You're real observant aren't you? I didn't take you anywhere."

As she looked around more, she realized that she was only in the alley behind the station. Then she realized that she was alone with Tyler. Why hadn't Nick and Greg come to find her? Sara knew that she could easily get up and go. It wasn't time to fight. She needed to finish this case. She moved to get up.

"You aren't going anywhere. I told you I wanted to talk to you, so that's what we are going to do."

She was sick of this. Sick of him controlling her. Sick of just sitting back and letting it happen. She could feel her anger quickly rising. "What the hell is your problem!"

He smiled and stood up. "Finally, some emotion! I've been waiting 4 months for that." He picked up her phone and threw it in her face. She rubbed her nose after it hit her. If emotion was what he wanted, he wasn't going to get it. "Your new boyfriend called." She gave a sigh of relief. So at least he had worried… "I told him I took you home, and that you'd be back soon. He believed me, thickhead… he and that other guy left couple minutes later." _They went to save me? _"Called a couple minutes ago, didn't answer. Probably got to your house. Don't know where he is now."

He turned away for a moment to fix his box. Sara saw her chance, picked up the pan that had evidently been used against her, and slammed it on his head. He yelled as he fell forward. Unfortunately, her hit didn't equal his, and he wasn't knocked out. She knew that she needed to get away, so she turned and ran, toppling Nick in her path.

She had never been happier to see him. Greg was running to catch up to them. Tyler had gotten back up to his feet and was wiping his pants. If he was nervous, he didn't show it. He stood straight up and looked Nick square in the eye. Greg held Sara in his arms, watching Nick get in Tyler's face.

"I swear to God, Tyler. That's the last time you touch her." He kept his voice calm. Sara settled into Greg's arms, as he rubbed hers to calm her.

"Hit me cop. Commit some police brutality. I could use some pay off money."

Nick nodded. "Alright…" he looked back to Sara and Greg and back to Tyler. "Deal." With that he one-two punched Tyler in both of his eyes. Tyler pathetically whimpered, but quickly straightened himself up, just in time to be turned around and slammed against the wall. He whispered into Tyler's ear "I'm not a cop." He backed up. "But if you want one, I can get one."

Tyler scoffed and wiped his now bleeding nose. He looked as if he was going to say something, but instead walking past them and back to his car.

Sara got out of Greg's grip. "I… I'm sorry. Tha-" she gulped, embarrassed. "Thanks."

"No problem. Just promise me you won't date scum like that anymore." Nick said, grabbing her hand. She nodded. "Good. Now, can we finish this case?"

* * *

"What's up guys?" Chris asked hopefully.

"Why did you want us to look at Rod's myjournal?" Nick asked.

"I don't know. It's not that I wanted you too. It was just a spur of the moment decision."

"I'm sure." Greg smirked.

"Who's this?"

Greg extended his hand. "Greg. So, you have something to tell us?"

Chris looked at each of the CSI's nervously. "N-no."

Ms. Bauer came into the room. "I don't want you questioning my son without me present!" Sara rolled her eyes.

"Chris, you need to be honest with us." Greg nudged him along. Ms. Bauer looked nervous.

Chris looked to his mother for moral support. She looked down and shook her head. "I uh. Well. I don't want to go to jail."

"Of course you don't." Sara said. "But from what you said before, we can't do anything."

"I lied." Ms. Bauer looked shocked.

"He killed my son! You can't listen to anything he says!"

"Ms. Bauer, please, let him continue," Nick said softly.

"I'm not going to lie for you anymore Mom." He began. "See, my mom was mad at my dad. Money, whatever. And uh, well, she talked to me, said we needed to get back at my dad, so I said ok. She said uh, we needed to show him what he was doing. Well, then it just got too far. She came over when Tiff and Dad were out to dinner. Said it was time. I didn't want to, I swear! I loved Rod. But then she said she'd kill me too if I didn't go along with it. So I had the drugs and I gave them to Rod. Then she took care of the rest and I went back into my room."

The CSI's stared at Chris then to Ms. Bauer. She sputtered and began to rise. "Hey, Ms. Bauer. Why don't you just stay for a second?" Greg asked.

"He's lying! Of course he's lying! He's trying get off for what he's done. Done to my baby Rod!"

"Stop Mom! You know what you did, I'm sick of taking the rap for you. You took away the only person who ever understood me." His eyes began to well up with tears.

"I understood you! Rod never understood you! He always sided with your father. Your father and that tramp. I loved you Chris. I gave you everything. And all I wanted was a little in return!"

"You call going to jail for you a little??"

"Fine. Everyone has turned against me. Fine. I'll admit it. He deserved it."

"Your son deserved to be killed?" Sara asked incredulously. "How did he deserve to be killed??"

Ms. Bauer scoffed. "Not him, his father. If Chris had given him enough of those drugs, this would have worked too. I wanted his father to think Rod had committed suicide. Like the note said. Make him know that it was all his father's fault. Feel guilty for his actions for once. Maybe he would understand if his son killed himself."

"You don't sound very guilty for your actions _Ms._ Bauer." Nick interjected, nodding the cop inside to handcuff the babbling woman.

"My actions? I don't need to feel guilty for issuing some justice!"

"Then neither do we." Greg smiled.

"Well that was fun," Nick said as he sat on the couch next to Sara in the break room and handed her frozen peas for her eye.

"Oh yeah, loads. Mmm, peas again." She said while holding the bag gingerly to her eye. "Thanks for… you know."

"Sara. You really don't need to thank me. I'll always be there if you're hurt." She smiled. "I love that smile." He said quietly.

She giggled silently. "I feel like I'm back in high school."

He slowly put his arm around her shoulders. "I liked high school."

Sara could swear her heart was beating loud enough for the entire building to hear it. "I didn't."

"Mm. Well, maybe this time around it will be better."

She turned to him, dropped the bag on the floor, and kissed him. "Long as I'm in control."

He touched her face and brought it closer to hers. "Never," he grinned, and kissed her back.

* * *

**END**

**thanks to everyone who read, i hope you liked it:)**


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